Like all the great houses in Washington this imposing edifice grew from a small post-Revolutionary cottage to its present magnificence over a period of more than one hundred and fifty years.

The first record of a cottage on this site is in 1819 when Colonel Nicholas Long directed in his will that Mrs. Elizabeth Tarver should have lumber delivered here from his sawmills and that she should also have the use of carpenters Abram and Bat for three months. The Tarver house was to be only one story and 20 by 24 feet so one wonders at the length of time allotted for building.

This lot was outside the first city limits of Washington.

At one time, the Rev. Alexander Webster lived here. He had come from Connecticut to Tutor the Alexander children. At one time, the house was used for a seminary. The next family to own the house was the Toombs-Colley family. Mrs. Kate Toombs Colley sold the house to Mrs Sarah C. Sanders in 1888.

Some people of Washington still remember the years when Mrs. Sarah Cooper Sanders was the gracious chatelaine and gave her elegant teas, literary "readings" and other pleasant cultural affairs. The children of Washington grew up enjoying the and visiting the great moose head in the Library which Mrs. Sanders' father shot and had mounted.

The next owners include Mrs. Wickersham, who was named Georgia Mother of the Year in 1973.

A real, southern Gazebo stands in the backyard of this residence reminding the viewers of the gentle, leisurely afternoons and evenings of former years in Southern gardens.

This is now the site of the Lafayette Manor Inn, yet another fine example of a Bed and Breakfast, and a wonderful French Restaurant.